


Working Relationships

by arianapeterson19



Series: Avengers Shorts [62]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Clint Barton, BAMF Phil Coulson, BAMF Tony Stark, Clint Needs a Hug, Desert, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fights, Hugs all around, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Improvised weapons, Insecure Tony, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9412718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arianapeterson19/pseuds/arianapeterson19
Summary: "So what's your plan?""My plan was to follow your plan!"ORThe one where Tony and Clint are left alone in a desert. (mostly on accident)





	

They stood there, staring at each other in the dim light, bullets raining down outside their scant shelter. They had no weapons, no armor, and very little else going for them.

“What’s your plan?” asked Tony, trying not to show how freaked out he was by the shooting at his unprotected body that was happening.

“Plan?” yelled Clint over the noise. “My plan was to follow your plan!”

Tony blinked at the archer blankly, then looked around before picking up a flat rock.

“Alright Katniss, start digging,” said Tony, handing him the rock. “I’m going to build a thing. If it sounds like they’re getting too close, throw rocks at them.”

Clint wanted to protest, to point out how dumb of a plan that was, but Tony was already tearing apart the remnants of old weapons that lay scattered around them. None of them worked but stuck in a cave in the desert, they didn’t really have a lot of other options.

“You’re freakishly good at this,” commented Clint, removing his belt to form a sort of sling shot.

“This ain’t my first rodeo,” replied Tony.

Suddenly, Clint felt infinitely better and worse. Because Tony was right, he had done something very similar, only that time Tony hadn’t been a hero, hadn’t had any experience fighting, hadn’t had any coping mechanisms. However, if Clint was going to be stuck under enemy fire with no weapons and only one person, he would vote to be with Tony because the genius had a knack for creating something out of nothing.

And create something out of nothing, Tony was doing. They weren’t pretty, but they would probably work. Probably.

“These are for you,” said Tony, indicating the small grouping of metal objects. “They’re grenades. Pull the pin and throw. I’ve got the gun. We’re going to run for the exit. Just keep throwing those things until we’re clear. They probably won’t have people outside right now – it’s the hottest part of the day. Once we’re outside, we make for the closest base, which I think it about twelve miles north of here.”

“How do you know that?”

“I memorized the locations of all the bases after my last holiday in the desert. On my signal.”

Clint didn’t have to ask what the signal would be, he knew Tony would just start running for the exit when he was ready and that would be the signal. Sure enough, one more improvised grenade later and Tony was off, Clint right behind.

The grenades were more flash grenades than anything else but they worked in buying the two time to escape. Tony shot anyone in front of them, Clint covering them from behind, and when they reached the mouth of the cave they discovered that Tony was correct, it was the hottest part of the day and no one was posted outside. One more grenade and they were far enough along that no one would be able to shoot them. They ran for a half mile before slowing down, though, just to be safe.

“So,” said Clint, pausing briefly to catch his breath, the sun already scorching and sapping his energy. “I vote we send Cap on the next recon missions.”

“I don’t know why they sent us in the first place,” said Tony with a shrug, removing his undershirt and wrapping it around his head before putting his outer shirt back on. “They know we’re magnets for trouble. We got shot out of the sky on our way back, how often does that happen to anyone else?”

“Yeah, that shortcut over enemy territory probably wasn’t the smartest move,” said Clint, following Tony’s example to protect his head from the sun. “What happened to your hand?”

“Burned it from the gun,” said Tony. “Now let’s get a move on.”

They set out at a steady, stumbling pace, leaning on each other more and more often as the heat sapped their strength. At some point, Clint looked down and spotted one of Tony’s shoes had practically fallen off his foot.

“Shit man, you can’t go walking around the desert with a broken shoe,” said Clint, blinking blearily.

“We’re almost there,” grunted Tony. “I’ve got nothing to cover it with anyway. Just one more mile.”

Clint shook his head and lifted one of the billionaire’s arms over his shoulder, taking some of his weight so Tony wouldn’t have to continue walking on a probably already burned foot. Tony didn’t say anything but the way he trembled told Clint that shoe had been broken for quite some time and Tony had somehow found the will to not mention it. There was no doubt in Clint’s mind that the only reason Tony didn’t mention anything was because the billionaire was worried about getting the archer out of the sun; Clint was prone to dehydration.

When the base came into view, Tony and Clint found themselves greeted with guns and orders to stop their approach. Both men hit their knees, hands in the air, and waited for the soldiers to approach them and check them for weapons. Once that was over, the hero’s were helped to the medical building where they found Bruce waiting for them.

“The others are on their way,” said Bruce, already checking Clint for injuries. “Coulson is a few minutes out, the rest are about six hours away.”

Bruce started and IV drip to help get fluids into the archer. After checking an confirming that Clint had no life threatening injuries, Bruce moved on to his more difficult patient. Clint could be a handful but Bruce caught him still in mission mode, which made him easier to work with. Tony, on the other hand, was in the perfect place to trigger a panic attack with the desert and medical treatment.

“What happened to your hand?” asked Bruce, calmly cleaning Tony’s hand while the billionaire kept his eyes trained on Clint.

“How’s Clint?” demanded Tony. “He needs fluids. He’s dehydrated.”

“He’s getting fluids now,” assured Bruce. “But I need you to tell me where you’re hurt so I can take care of it.”

Phil Coulson chose that moment to arrive, marching into medical as though he ran the place. Noting that Bruce was treating – or attempting to anyway – Tony, Coulson made his way to Clint to question the archer about what happened. 

“Hawkeye, report,” demanded Coulson, keeping his voice purposefully professional to ensure that Clint stayed in the right mindset.

“Jet was shot down,” reported Clint, his eyes not leaving Tony. “We were taken into a cave. We attacked, Tony made some weapons, that’s how he burned his hands. We didn’t have a lot of time, so the weapons were rudimentary at best. But they worked, we made it out of the cave and marched here.”

“Injuries?”

“From the crash, just bruises. We’ll both be sore for a while. Dehydration from the walk. Tony has burns on his hand from the gun. At least one – possibly both – of his shoes failed to be a very good shoe on the walk so his foot is a mess. That’s it to my knowledge.”

Coulson nodded and when Clint took a deep, shuddering breath, the agent slipped seamlessly into boyfriend mode, sitting down on the bed and taking Clint into his arms while they both watched Bruce take care of Tony. Tony stared right back as he babbled to Bruce about everything, trying to distract himself from the pain.

It took almost an hour for Bruce to finish cleaning Tony up. By that point Coulson had contacted the others and told them to head directly to the location of the downed jet and try to figure out why it was so easily shot out of the sky and that he would be bringing Tony and Clint back home. By that point, Tony was itching to get away, becoming more and more restless as the moments passed. Clint, Bruce, and Phil could see the panic attack building and acted accordingly.

“We have a helicopter waiting to take you to the airport,” said one of the soldiers to Coulson. Phil nodded his thanks and stood, helping Clint to his feet as well, making sure the archer was steady before moving on to Tony.

Tony refused to use the wheelchair or stretcher; no one wanted to push him when he was so close to the edge already. Clint and Coulson stepped up on either side of the billionaire, pulling his arms over their shoulders.

“I hate this place,” hissed Tony as they made their slow way to the helicopter.

“We’re leaving now,” said Phil softly.

The flight home was uneventful. Clint slept through most of it, Phil worked on paperwork and emails, and Tony sat rigidly, his left hand tapping on a tablet while his right was wrapped in gauze. When they arrived at the Tower, Phil and Clint helped Tony to their shared bed. 

“Fuck, I hate deserts,” groaned Tony, curling into Clint as soon as the archer settled down.

“Do you two need anything?” asked Phil from the edge of the bed.

In answer, Tony made grabby hands with his one good hand at the agent. Phil snorted but shucked off his suit and slipped into sweats before crowding Tony from the other side.

The three had established spots in their big bed. Clint always slept on the outside closest to the window. He liked the view and needed to be within reach of his bow to sleep. Phil slept on the side closest to the door, always ready to respond to an urgent call or attack of some sort. Tony curled up in the middle, content to finally have someone watching his front and back, seeking out the security of someone wanting to protect him for once instead of tear him down.

“Bruce said bed rest for both of you for the next few days,” said Phil, pressing up against Tony’s back, one arm sneaking down to curl around Tony’s stomach, the other reaching over to hold Clint’s hand. “And then you, Tony, are using crutches and staying off that foot for at least three weeks. Those burns aren’t to be taken lightly.”

“Can we please talk about anything else?” begged Tony, his voice shaking. “Please – I can’t – I just – “

Breath hitching, Tony finally gave in and fell into the fear and panic that had been threatening to overwhelm him since the moment he knew the plane was going down in the desert. Clint and Phil jumped into their places, riding out attack while they did their best to reassure their genius that he wasn’t alone, he was safe, and that they had him. It wasn’t easy but when Tony finally calmed, the way he trustingly fell to sleep in their arms, made it all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> I wouldn't have to ship Tony with everyone if other people would just constantly do it for me. By that, I mean does anyone have good rare-pairs for Tony that I haven't written/rare-pair Tony stories I should read?
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


End file.
